Charlotte Forten’s Mission: Experiment in Freedom is a historical drama (based on a true story) which premiered on US television (PBS) in 1985.
It is an episode of the program called American Playhouse (season 04 episode 11).
Charlotte Forten was an African American woman who was born in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) in 1837. She was born free. She was never a slave. Older members of her family were active in the movement for abolition. When Charlotte grew up, she joined the movement. She became an activist, a published author and a public speaker.
Charlotte lived a long life, but her health was never strong. It seems she suffered from tuberculosis. On more than one occasion, she had to rest and relax in bed for several weeks before she could start another round of activities.
The topic of this film is the life and times of Charlotte Forten with special focus on the time of the Civil War (1861-1865) during which she travelled to the Sea Islands – a chain of small islands located off the coast of South Carolina - in order to teach the children of former slaves and sometimes their parents as well.
For two years (1862-1864), she was a part of the so-called Port Royal Experiment in Freedom which was designed to support former slaves and encourage them to live and work as free citizens.
In 1878, Charlotte married Francis James Grimké who was a Presbyterian minister in Washington, DC. He was more than ten years younger than her. She was 41, while he was 28. In 1880, they had a child. Sadly, the child died as an infant.
Charlotte lived until 1914. Francis James outlived his wife by more than 20 years. He died in 1937.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Director: Barry Crane
** Writer: Samm-Art Williams
** Run time: 113 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Mary Alice (born 1941) as Blind Lilly
** Ned Beatty (1937-2021) as Reverend Mansfield French
** Carla Borelli (born 1942) as Laura Towne (1825-1901) – teacher on the island of St Helena – Charlotte’s friend and colleague
** Micky Grant (born 1941) as Lena
** Moses Gunn (1929-1993) as Hannibal
** Anna Maria Horsford (born 1948) as Hannah – wife of Joshua
** Bruce McGill (born 1950) as Edward Philbrick – a businessman from Boston
** Melba Moore (born 1945) as Charlotte Forten (1837-1914) – teacher on the island of St Helena
Jay Patterson (born 1954) as Edward Pierce – New England Freemen’s Society
** Vito Ruginis (born 1956) as Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911) – author, abolitionist and soldier
** Glynn Turman (born 1947) as Joshua – husband of Hannah
** Rodrick F. Wimberley (born 1969) as Jacob – a student in Charlotte’s class
BACKGROUND
In 1861, forces of the Union (the North) and forces of the Confederated States (the South) fought a naval battle off the coast of the southern state South Carolina. The North won and the South lost. As a result of this battle, the Sea Islands were abandoned by the southern army and navy.
The white owners of the plantations and other white people who lived there moved to the mainland, leaving behind them the local black population: ca. 8,000 slaves (men, women and children).
The blacks were no longer slaves, because their masters had left, but legally they were still not free, because there had not been an official emancipation. A regiment of the northern army moved in to take control of the islands and to make sure that southern forces were not coming back.
The northern authorities decided to offer assistance to the Sea Islands. In 1862, a group of ca. 50 missionaries (mostly doctors and teachers) travelled to the Sea Islands to offer assistance to the former slaves. All missionaries except one were white abolitionists. The exception was Charlotte Forten.
This was the beginning of an interesting social project which is known as the Port Royal Experiment in Freedom. The project is named after the island of Port Royal which has an important harbour. Charlotte and Laura were stationed on the island of St Helena.
THE PLOT
In this movie, we follow Charlotte during the time from 1862 to 1864. At first, she is in Philadelphia where she hears about the unusual situation prevailing on the Sea Islands:
A large population of former slaves has been abandoned by their masters. She wants to go there and teach the children how to read and write. This will be an important tool for them when they want to be free citizens.
The people in charge of the project do not want her to go. They say she is not strong enough. But Charlotte is determined to go. She does not take no for an answer. She really wants to go, and in the end, permission is granted.
During the remaining part of the movie, she is on the island of St Helena where she works as a teacher. In the beginning, the black people do not trust her. She is regarded as an outsider.
They say she is dressed like a white woman. They say she talks like a white woman. But after a while, she gains their trust and they get along well.
The characters in the movie discuss the current situation and the future. What do the northern people want to do with the former slaves? What do the former slaves want to do?
Different solutions are presented. A businessman from Boston (Philbrick) wants to buy some land and produce cotton. He wants the former slaves to work for him as free workers.
But the former slaves do not want to be workers on a large plantation. They want to own the land on which they work. They do not want to produce cotton anymore. This product is associated with the old times, with slavery. They want to grow food crops, so they can feed their families.
Charlotte becomes deeply involved in the local life. She supports the former slaves when they say they wish to own the land on which they work. She is not impressed by Philbrick’s plans.
After spending two years in the Sea Islands, Charlotte suffers from poor health. It is a serious problem. She wants to stay, but she has to go home. She must return to the north. She is sad to leave. The local people are sad to see her leaving.
By 1864, the former slaves are free, because the legal situation has changed. In September 1862, President Lincoln issued a proclamation which declared that all slaves in rebellious states were free from 1 January 1863.
In 1865, the northern army wins the war. In that year, when the president is assassinated. Lincoln is replaced by his vice president Andrew Johnson who has more sympathy for the south than Lincoln. When Johnson assumes the presidency, he declares the Port Royal Experiment to be over and restores the land to the previous white owners.
RATINGS AND REVIEWS
What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 63 percent which corresponds to 3.2 stars on Amazon.
There is one critic review on IMDb: Ed McNulty reviews the movie on his blog Visual Parables (10 April 2021).
His review is positive. He offers 4.4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 88 percent.
On Amazon there are at the moment two global ratings (5 stars) and one global review (3 stars). The average rating is 4.4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 88 percent.
If you ask me, the rating on IMDb is too low, while the ratings offered by McNulty and by Amazon are more appropriate.
This movie is good but not great. There are some flaws here and there. Let me explain:
# 1. It takes a while to find out who is who. When a character appears on the screen, he or she is not always presented by name. It takes a while to find out who is who and how they are related to each other. I think the movie-makers should have done more to help the viewer understand who is who.
# 2. When Charlotte opens her school, not a single student shows up. The parents do not want to send their children to her class. After a while, one student (Jacob) shows up. And later, more students begin to show up. This development does not accord with what Charlotte writes in her account of her life in the Sea Islands.
I think the writer of the screenplay used this ploy to illustrate the fact that the local people did not trust Charlotte at first.
# 3. There is a hint of romance between Charlotte and Colonel Thomas Higginson. Nothing happens, but they seem to have feelings for each other. However, there is no evidence that is true. She was black and he was white. She was single, while he was married.
I think the writer of the screenplay invented this detail in order to make the movie more interesting.
CONCLUSION
This movie produced by PBS is a tribute to Charlotte Forten. It is a good way to remember her work for abolition and equal rights.
But as you can see, the movie has some flaws. I have to remove one star because of them. Therefore, I think it deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Articles
** Emma Jones Lapsansky,
“Feminism, Freedom, and Community: Charlotte Forten and Women Activists in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia”
The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography,
Vol. 113, no. 1 (January 1989) pages 3-19.
** Ben Barten,
“The Port Royal Experiment”
Essential Civil War Curriculum (website)
# 2. Books
** The Journal of Charlotte Forten: A Free Negro in the Slave Era edited by Ray Allen Billington (1981)
** Diary of Charlotte Forten: A Free Black Girl Before the Civil War (2014)
** Letters and Diary of Laura Towne: 1862-1884 edited by Rupert Sargent Holland (2016)
** Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment by Willie Lee Rose (1964) (1976) (1999)
*****
Charlotte Forten
(1837-1914)
*****
Rehearsal for Reconstruction:
The Port Royal Experiment
By Willie Lee Rose
(1964) (1976) (1999)
*****
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